08/30/2017

The soul is the home of your thoughts, your fantasies, your emotions and so on, and it is a part of your inner man.
It is your flesh, inside your soul, that is in control of your life, up until the time you receive Jesus as your Savior, and then the Holy Spirit takes over the lead.

What do we mean by ‘flesh’?

‘Flesh’ means our sinful nature, in other words, how we were before we received Jesus as Lord. The bible talks about the flesh, for example in Romans 8:7 and John 6:63.

Rom 8:7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

John 6:63It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing …

What happens to the soul when we receive Jesus?

In the last post we said that when we are born again the Holy Spirit moves into our spirit. As a result, a war starts, concerning the right to control our soul. It is a battle between the Holy Spirit, from within our spirit, and the flesh, which has always up until then, been able to rule our life without opposition.

How does the Holy Spirit get control of the soul of man?

The Holy Spirit does not automatically take control of your soul. It is a process of cooperation between you and God. Your part in the process is that you allow the Holy Spirit to do what he wants to do. God has given you a free will, and therefore you need to give the Holy Spirit your permission to act in your life.

The process, through which the Holy Spirit takes over our soul, making our flesh back off, is called sanctification.

What is God’s will for the soul of man?

God’s will is for the Holy Spirit to get complete control of the soul of man.

08/02/2017

In the last post, we said that those who receive Jesus get a position of authority at the right hand of the Father. We will look a little closer at that later, but first we will look at Jesus’ position of authority.

Jesus’ position of authority

Jesus is sitting right now at the right hand of the Father.

Eph. 1:20Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

The fact that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father means that He has a position over the evil spiritual world.

Eph. 1:21Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

Our position of authority

In Ephesians, in the second chapter, we can read about OUR position.

Eph. 2:6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

We live physically on earth, but our position of authority is in Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Father. Therefore, we, just like Jesus, have a position of authority over the evil spiritual world.

04/05/2017

It might seem evident that the enemy is behind rape, so why discuss it as a special weapon of the enemy? The answer is, there is much more that takes place during a rape than what we see with our eyes.

What happens at the time of rape, besides physical assault?

The rape can lead to inner wounds, and fear, that the enemy can later use to hinder the victim from living a life of freedom. However, something even worse can happen. There can be a demonic transference.

What do we mean by ”demonic transference”?

Demonic transference is demons going from the rapist to the victim. Demons can be transmitted in several ways, but sex outside of marriage is the most common way.

What takes place, spiritually, during a rape?

There is a risk that the victim receives spirits who dwell in the rapist. We might think women are the ones being the victims, but it can happen to men also. Let’s tell about a pastor who was raped. A friend of the pastor told the story.

Late one night, on his way home, the pastor decided to take a shortcut through a park. There were a gang of homosexuals, and they raped him. It was a traumatic experience, but as time went by he began longing back to the park in order to be raped again. Finally the pressure became so strong that he fell for the temptation. That was the starting point for of a sexual relation with the men. He really fought against the temptations, since he didn’t actually want to live that way, but he could not resist. Finally he decided to tell his church about his problem. They fired him and expelled him from the church.

What exactly happened? Well, when he was raped, spirits of homosexuality were being transmitted. Those spirits then drove him to have sex with men, while he, in reality, didn’t want to. If the church, rather than to exclude him, had delivered him from the spirits of homosexuality, he would have been set free.

How should we deal with the enemy’s weapon rape?

· First, it is important that the victims of rape receive help, even with deliverance, when such is needed.
· Second, we must see the enemy behind rapes. That means even the rapists need deliverance.
· Third, it can be necessary to cleanse a place, where many have been raped, from spirits of rape.

10/14/2016

Ps. 135:5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.

Comment:

”… our Lord is above all gods”

There is one God, i.e. the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And there are other gods, or idols, and the bible tells us, that they are evil spirits.

1 Cor. 10:20 (ESV) No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.

More and more we need to realize how superior God is, compared to the evil spirits. Of course we already know this, but in our daily life, when the enemy attacks us, we often are deceived to reduce the power of God and exaggerate, or magnify, the ability of the enemy.

We do not always immediately see the effect of our spiritual warfare, and so sometimes, we are deceived to think that the enemy is big and powerful. And, to unsaved people, the enemy really is “big”. We cannot fight the enemy in our own strength. But, to us, who have received Jesus into our hearts, the enemy is weak. Not because of us, but because of Jesus who lives in us. He is greater.

1 John 4:4 … greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

06/24/2016

Ps. 126:2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing …

Comment:

Laughter and singing came when the Lord put and end to Zion’s captivity, and today the church needs that freedom too. So much joy and singing are held back because we have allowed the enemy to steal from us. There is a wonderful freedom for the people of God, and we must start believing it is possible for us to come out of captivity into freedom.

We have just said that there will be laughter and singing when we have been set free, but God also uses our joy and singing as tools to set us free.

There is a joy that is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Gal. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is … joy …

The fruit of the Spirit, joy, doesn’t depend on circumstances, but is available for every one who has received Jesus. When that joy is released, it is a mighty weapon.

Neh. 8:10 … the joy of the LORD is your strength.

There is a freedom of joy to get into, and at the same time, joy releases freedom.

02/03/2015

The lake of fire is the final place of torment for the devil, his spirits, and for people who have not received Jesus as their Savior.

Are hell, and the lake of fire the same?

No, hell is the first location for those who died without having received Jesus. They are held prisoners there, until the day of judgment when they will finally be cast into the lake of fire.

Is hell the place where the devil has his headquarters?

No, the bible doesn’t say that the devil or the evil spirits have their headquarters in hell.

Believing that hell is the kingdom of Satan, where he and his evil spirits torment sinners, is a doctrine that has its origin in Greek philosophy affecting Jewish thinking. During the Middle Ages that doctrine was introduced to the Christians.

The abyss, or the bottomless pit, is a prison for evil spirits. The devil himself will be imprisoned there during the Millennium.

Rev. 20:1-3
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

The evil spirits fear the abyss.

Luke 8:31And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.

01/19/2015

We have established that Jesus completed His mission, but, and this is important, He did what He was supposed to do, but He didn’t do, what we are supposed do. We too have a function in God’s plan to destroy the works of the devil.

Jesus passed the mission, to destroy the works of the devil, on to us. It happened when Jesus appeared in front the disciples after His resurrection.

John 20:21Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Jesus said “as my Father hath sent me …”. How did the Father send him? The Father sent Him to destroy the works of the devil through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus then said “even so send I you.”, i.e. He sent the disciples, and consequently, we, as believers, are sent to do the same thing He was sent to do, namely, to destroy the works of the devil.

How should we carry out the mission to destroy the works of the devil?

Later in the study we will look in more detail at what it means to destroy the works of the devil. Here we are simply establishing that the devil and his spirits have to be stopped from destroying God’s creation.

What are the works of the devil?

We cannot make a complete list of the works of the devil, but here are a few: disease, economic shortage, relationship problems and abuse.

But if someone ends up in economic difficulties, isn’t that the person’s own fault?

Of course everybody has a responsibility for the choices they make. But we need to be aware of the evil powers at work to lure people into making wrong choices. We have a mission to stop those powers.

Ps. 82:4Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

A person who is economically careless, and who is also influenced by evil spirits, will not get his economy in order no matter what he does. He needs deliverance.

07/31/2014

The demons know they have lost if the body of Christ comes into unity. Therefore, the enemy tries to divide. We must not accept that the enemy divides. The way into unity means, among other things, that we fight against the evil spirits who cause the division.